What is and what should never be...

WOW. Wow. Wow. I'll say it again - wow. I can't believe that the U.S. is moving on to play in the Confederation Cup semi-finals. We beat Egypt 3-0 today to secure our spot, but what makes it even more crazy is that Brazil had to beat Italy 3-0 for us to get on by goal differential. The odds of that happening were astronomical. Seriously. A team like Italy does not lose to anyone 3-0 so that happening must have every Italian in the world on anti-depressants. I was gonna post yesterday about how disappointed I was in the U.S. team after our loss to Brazil. Strictly speaking, we played like crap. We didn't play with heart, our play was boring, and our defense left something to be desired. However, everything was the exact opposite against Egypt. Someone must have given some hell of a pre-game speech to fire those boys up and I'm damn glad they did. The Egyptians, knowing that they would advance if they didn't lose 3-0 looked shell-shocked after giving up two goals - after the third, they looked like they were gonna cry. Am I surprised about this whole outcome? Hell yes I am. Am I glad we knocked out the Italians? Hell yes. However, we play Spain next. Currently, Spain is not only #1 in the world, but they are riding a record-breaking win streak dating back to two years ago. After the U.S. getting to the semi's, it seems like all the stars are aligning for us to pull off this upset. Feel free to put me in the "non-believer" category because I highly doubt it will happen.

This is what happened the last time stars aligned.

So I'm still sun-burned from the Lakers victory parade, but it's well worth it because the parade was awesome. I was actually at the Coliseum (where the parade ended) with 97,000 other Lakers fans. The crazy thing was that everyone was wearing gold or purple, so it looked like a LSU home football game.

The best part of the parade. Not the cheerleaders you perv, I'm talking 'bout Tony Danza on the beer ad in the background.

On another basketball related note, Curtis Jerrells is set to workout for the Utah Jazz sometime this week. In case you don't know, CJ was our star point guard at Baylor University. He started for all four years he was there, set numerous records, and helped to lead back to NCAA Tournament for the first time in 20 years. All in all, he set the foundation for us to build upon. I don't think he'll be drafted by the Jazz, who have the 20th pick, but I do believe he'll be drafted in the second round. He's a solid player with a strong body who is good at going one on one, using his quickness to his advantage. However, I think he needs to work on his jumpshot in order to become more consistent - this might mean simplifying his release a little more because it's not that smooth; it's more like 2 part motion instead of 1 long one. Anyway, I hope his workout goes well and whichever team picks him up won't be disappointed.

"This new jersey is missing something... oh yeah, a place for my head."

Some quick hits...- The Dodgers took the series from Texas Rangers, the Oakland Athletics, and now the Anaheim Angels. Up next on our barn-storming tour of the American League, the Seattle Mariners.
- The U.S. Open for golf is gonna finish tomorrow because of rain delays which have pushed it back a day. Surprisingly, Tiger has not played well, even though the course was softened up after all the rain (making it softer which equals easier). He is currently seven shots back of surprise leaders Ricky Barnes and Lucas Glover. Phil Mickelson is 5 shots back. Who do I think will win? I have no idea, but I doubt that it'll be Barnes or Glover. For their sake, I hope I'm wrong.
- Rafael Nadal will not defend his title at Wimbledon due to injury, which is very disappointing considering the epic showdown he had with Roger Federer last year. Oh well, Federer will be the favorite this year since Nadal is out and will be looking to re-claim his spot as #1 in the world. For this reason alone, I don't want Federer to win. Screw that.
- On a somewhat related tennis note... who the hell is gonna be the next great American tennis star? Andy Roddick has been bust and I'm strictly speaking 'bout men, so we can cross out Serena and Venus (although I'm sure they could pass for men if they tried - BURN).

Some random thoughts...- Land of the Lost was hilarious. Will Ferrell did not disappoint and the movie moved well. The best part was undoubtedly Matt Lauer saying "Matt Lauer can suck it".
- The newly formed Women's Professional Soccer league is boring as hell. WPS should stand for Women Playing Shitty or something... like that...
- Megan Fox just announced that she's single. She also said that she's "very nervous" about it and "afraid". Well, Megan, if you happen to be reading this I will come out and say that I am more than happy to help ease you back into a relationship... with me. ZING!

Aww, look at how nervous and afraid she is. Adorable. And hot.

75 days until we beat down Wake Forest. You weren't expecting such an aggressive tone, were ya?